2007 11 28 The Best Damp Mission in the World! (Can I say that?)

Dear Everyone at Home:

As you can see from this week's title, it's still raining. A lot! And the thunder and lightning are spectacular. One night it just went on and on and on - and not just jagged strikes of lightning: the whole (cloudy) sky lights up and you can see outside perfectly for a second. This is not the place to be if you're afraid of thunder. Apparently we'll have rain throughout the summer (which is coming up). I'm told there are rarely five sunny days in a row.

Morgan and Hunter are cheerful this week - school ends on Friday, and next week they fly to the good old U. S. of A. - in rugby shirts. They are absolutely on their honor to behave appropriately ... and to get on the plane to come back!!!

This week was sister exchanges, and as usual they loved it. One of our Newcastle sisters had to come to Durban for a doctor's appointment, so we took advantage of it and had an exchange with the Pietermaritzburg sisters. They took the bus to PMB, stayed the night, the PMB sisters drove them to Durban (45 minute drive) for the appointment, then we had a little meeting and lunch, and they went back to PMB for an exchange. This is the first time these two companionships have had a chance to do an exchange, so they really liked it. I read a letter to them that Sister Scott of the Canada Toronto East Mission had sent me, and they all felt a kinship with sister missionaries all over the world - all having similar experiences! (Elders just can't quite "get" some of it - which is good, or Eve wouldn't have had to be created!)

Sunday night was a missionary fireside at Pinetown Ward. They have one every 4 months, and always send the members out with a challenge. Last time it was to show the "Testaments" video to a friend. This time it was to fill out the gift certificates you see above, as a Christmas gift to the Savior. Feel free to print them and fill out some of your own.

I had fun with my talk, looking for examples of sharing the gospel with friends, and friendshipping new members. See Alma 7:14-15 for people you might not expect to be interested in the gospel - but were. Because after all, Mark 2:17. And for examples of friendshipping new members, try Alma 15:16 & 18, and Alma 27:22 & 27. And in a stretch (imagine the thieves as the trials of life) Luke 10:30-37. So fill in your own name in D&C 14:11, then check out D&C 15:4 & 6. Because after all, D&C 123:12!

Last week's incident was a bike-jacking. Our missionaries are taking Luke 6:29 too seriously. (Don't you just hate this? I'll try not to get carried away.) I don't think there was time to teach repentance this time.

We're are greatly troubled in Africa by a custom called lobola. It is the practice of "buying" a wife. The Church, naturally, frowns on it, and many of the upcoming generation are trying to get away from it, because they can't afford it. If the man can't afford lobola, the couple just lives together and raises their family. We have a couple in Mpumalanga who were just baptized, along with 2 of her children. "Baba", who is an older man, was providing for "Mama" and some of her children, as well as his own children and a niece. He can't afford the lobola Mama's grandmother is insisting on (I guess it's her social security) so he has moved out, and down the street, and we have 2 single parents and their kids. If they flaunt tradition and just get married, they'll be disowned and I guess "dishonor" the family. It's a toughie - the amount is 20,000 rands, which is about $3500. (I don't know current livestock prices, but does that equal an 8 cow wife?) We have even had priesthood leaders, who need to know better, ask for lobola.

Other tough customs to deal with are the wildly expensive and fancy weddings they throw in the Indian community, which puts Indian members into horrendous debt, and the lavish funerals expected in the Zulu community. This last is starting to falter because of the high AIDS death rate - it's just not feasible. Provident living needs lots of attention here.

We had another flying termite invasion - I made a little video clip, but haven't yet figured out how to put it on the blog. I'll keep trying. No one ate them this time. But speaking of eating, we had 2 Thanksgiving dinners last week! They have a few turkeys in the freezer case this time of year (only) so I bought 2 for each dinner, the turkeys being about half the size of the ones I usually buy at home. I cooked both at the same time in my oven. I also used the can of pumpkin pie filling I brought from home -I'll have to replenish for next year. And get cranberry sauce...

The "real" Thanksgiving dinner was for the office elders, the elders from our ward, Hunter and Morgan and me. Steve and the Assistants were between Swaziland and Richard's Bay, and their timing was such that they missed dinner with the couples in both places. Hence the 2nd dinner on Sunday, which included the Dalebouts and the Assistants (and the Dalebouts had cranberry sauce!). The Hill stuffing was a hit.

This week Steve and the Assistants are working on transfers - the new missionaries come in on Wednesday. They work like crazy on them, then Steve wakes up in the night with different inspiration, and changes them, and then he meets them and sometimes changes them again. It's quite a process. We will be losing Elder Larsen and getting a new assistant, too. Elder Larsen is the "Adult in Charge" of Hunter and Morgan on the way home - his last assignment as assistant. I hope he survives.

Love to everyone, and get those Christmas decorations up!

Love,

Mom/Grandma/Susan/Sue/Sister President Mann